Donovan Mitchell scores 35 points, Cavaliers rout Raptors 118-93

CLEVELAND(AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Jarrett Allen had 23points and 11 rebounds, sending the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-93victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

Mitchell madeeight 3-pointers — one shy of his career high — and had sixrebounds and four assists in 31 minutes as the Cavaliers snappedtheir three-game losing streak and remained fourth in the EasternConference. He scored 13 points in both the second and thirdquarters.

DariusGarland added 18 points and 11 assists, and Evan Mobley had 18points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which built a 110-80 leadin the fourth quarter and improved to 26-7 at home this season.

Pascal Siakampaced Toronto with 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and JakobPoeltl had 13 points and nine boards. Starting point guard FredVanVleet missed his third straight game for personal reasons.

The Raptorshad won a season-high four in a row and are 7-2 since Feb. 3,moving into ninth in the East. They failed to reach .500 for thefirst time since Dec. 9 with the 25-point loss, shooting 38.7% fromthe field.

Veteranswingman Danny Green, who signed with the Cavaliers earlier thismonth, converted a four-point play in the fourth. It was his firstappearance in a home game for Cleveland.

Mitchell andGarland combined to make their first seven 3-point attempts andAllen made his first seven shots, staking Cleveland to a 64-52halftime advantage. Mobley grabbed seven rebounds in the secondquarter.

Toronto is inthe midst of an eight-game stretch that only includes one at home.The span began with a 95-91 victory at Detroit on Saturdayafternoon.

DOUBLE WHAMMY

Cavalierscoach J.B. Bickerstaff challenged an offensive foul by Mitchell inthe third quarter. Not only did the officials uphold Mitchell’spush-off under the basket against Poeltl, they upgraded it to aflagrant-1 foul for being an unnatural basketball play. “I feltlike I didn’t foul him,” Mitchell said.

TIP-INS

Raptors: GScottie Barnes has overcome a rough start to his second season. Thereigning Rookie of the Year is averaging 17 points, 7.3 reboundsand 5.1 assists since the beginning of January. “Scottie is back toplaying with super joy and enthusiasm, just like he did in hisrookie season,” coach Nick Nurse said. … Nurse and Barnes were bothcalled for technical fouls in the first eight minutes.

Cavaliers: GDylan Windler, a first-round draft pick in 2019, is averaging 5.3points through three games on a G League assignment with theCleveland Charge. He missed the first four months with a sprainedright ankle and has not logged a minute in the NBA since April 10,2022. … The Cavaliers have one open roster spot following therelease of five-time All-Star F Kevin Love.

UPNEXT

Raptors: Hostthe Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

Cavaliers:Visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.